Shah Alam had been in the Erie County Holding Center since February 2025 after being arrested by Buffalo police. On February 15 last year, he had been out for a walk in his neighborhood and had been using a curtain rod he purchased as a walking stick.
Nearly blind and with no ability to speak English, Shah Alam got lost and ended up on the porch of a woman’s home as she was letting her dog out, according to Macaluso. Shah Alam is completely blind in one eye and can only see with blurry vision for several feet in the other, according to Macaluso.
The woman called police, Macaluso said. When Shah Alam did not follow police commands to drop his curtain rod, they Tasered and beat him, then arrested him, Macaluso said. The officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffle, he said.
A spokesperson for Border Patrol, in a statement Wednesday evening, said after agents determined Shah Alam was not supposed to be in their custody, they “offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop.” That Tim Hortons, the spokesperson said, was “determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station.”
Agents, however, did not notify Macaluso or Shah Alam’s family of his release to the coffee shop. Macaluso previously told Investigative Post he expected Shah Alam to be taken to the ICE detention center in Batavia and that his client would be released from there.
I imagine the woman absolutely knew about copious evidence of police brutality (and murder) in their country, so it’s not like that isn’t a factor. She might have called also bcs she was angry/frustrated at some point with the situation.
Where I live I would call the cops even if there was no language barrier, just to help the dude get home. But I was cautioned enough that in case I would witness that event over there that I would not call the caps at all on a black dude clearly not actively trying to murder people.
Are you kidding? The media glorifies police. It’s non stop Police procedural drama on TV.
You are right about the constant propaganda, I just thought that works more in the areas where the police isn’t killing folk (ie white neighbourhoods).
But idk. It could have been a factor, I just can’t imagine it.